An obscure two-verse prayer by an obscure biblical personage such as Jabez has inspired a whole cottage industry of books, wall art, music CDs, journal, devotional guide, study Bible, and a woman's study guide. Since that is so, we ought to be willing to pay at least a few minutes' attention to two prayers given by one of Judah's most influential kings, Hezekiah, to see what we can learn from them.
Paul House draws three conclusions from these examples of petitionary prayer. In both cases, Hezekiah realizes that he is up against situations that he has inadequate resources to control. However, unlike other Jewish kings, he does not turn to foreign nations for help but to God instead. “Without question the life of faith allows Hezekiah no easy road to health and wealth [unlike Wilkinson's interpretation of Jabez' prayer]. But it does teach him that the Lord gives life, delivers the remnant, and answers prayer. It teaches him that the Lord is the only hope worth clinging to in situations great or small.”
He approaches God in humility, although as House points out, he does remind God of his loyal service in the past in his second prayer. The second point of note is that the expressed motive in his first prayer is concern for God's reputation, not his own life. One can also read this as an unexpressed motive in his second prayer, too. The king's words imply that just as Hezekiah has been loyal to God's command as a faithful servant, he will continue to serve God if his life is extended further.
House says, “If the author's monotheistic convictions are true, then nothing matters more in individual, national, or international history than God being glorified. All people benefit when God receives recognition, honor, praise, and glory, so Yahweh must make sure he glorifies himself.”
“Thirdly, Hezekiah's prayers focus on what benefits the whole community of faith (cf. 2 Kgs 19:5-7). Perhaps even his prayers for extended life fit this category After all, he certainly knows what past kings have done. His ongoing commitment to God does benefit continued covenant fidelity in Judah.”
Here are additional thoughts regarding each of these two appeals to God:
Prayer for Deliverance from Assyria (II Kings 19:14-19)
The logic behind Hezekiah's petition can perhaps be grasped by this diagram:
A. You are God, you alone (15a)
B. of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth (15b)
C. Sennacherib has mocked the loving God (16)
C'. The Assyrians have destroyed other nations and their false gods (17-18)
B'. so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know (19a)
A'. you, O LORD, are God alone (19b)
Hezekiah's strong faith in the one God is seen in A and A'; the importance of God's witness to other nations as His creation is stressed in B and B; and C and C' hint at the spiritual disaster that will ensue if God lets the Assyrians conquer Judah as they did other countries.
The situation prompting this prayer was a serious one for the nation. Sennacherib first sends his representative to dishearten the people of Jerusalem by bad-mouthing Yahweh and threatening disaster if the city does not surrender to the Assyrians. Hezekiah's response to Isaiah is, “This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of contempt. Cogan and Tadmor explain: “Hezekiah's message to the prophet is twofold. It conveys the sense of humbling which Sennacherib's victories have induced, here termed 'rebuke'; and at the same time it calls attention to the blasphemies against YHWH hurled by the Rabshakeh.”
It is this second aspect of the Assyrian message that Ellul feels is the all-important aspect of this situation. He asks, “Why does Hezekiah tear his garments?...It is not because the siege is hard, for the situation is no worse today than yesterday. It is not because the situation is hopeless nor because he fears the effects of the propaganda...His only reason is that the king of Assyria has mocked the living God...At issue now is God's honor. This is the true problem.” And when God's honor is at stake, the most appropriate “political action consists of withdrawing into the house of the Lord and crying to him.”
House echoes these general opinions by stating, “Clearly, Hezekiah wants freedom for himself and for his people, yet he never loses sight of Israel's responsibility to bring recognition and glory to their Lord.”
God's response to this plea is given in v. 34: “I will defend this city for my own sake and for the sake of David, my servant.” Cogan and Tadmor note that “the idea that YHWH acts 'for his own sake' can be traced back to the plague traditions in Exod 10:1 and 11:7.”
Subsequently, God gives the king a sign that all will be well. “The sign means Judah has been healed from what appeared to be a terminal illness.” You will see that House's words purposely draw a parallel with the situation in the next prayer described below.
Prayer for Deliverance from Death (II Kings 20:1-3)
In these verses, Isaiah informs King Hezekiah that he will soon die. In response, the king offers up a very simple prayer to God: “Please, O YHWH, remember how I served you faithfully and loyally and did what was pleasing to you.” Cogan and Tadmor point out that Hezekiah never comes out and asks for recovery. “It is implicit, however, in the idiom chosen on this occasion.”
House explains that Hezekiah “does what he has done before when in jeopardy – he prays. Just as in the previous episode, he asks the Lord to change what seems to be a logical sequence of events. This time though, his petition also includes a change in what is, apparently, what God intends to do. Following the Israelite tradition of personal laments, he cites his own character, the Lord's mercy, and the past as bases for why he might receive what he requests.”
In God's favorable response to Hezekiah's petition, He repeats practically word for word in 20:6 His earlier reply in 19:34 with the key phrase “for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” Oswalt explains that the king “evokes the faithfulness of God to his promise. Hezekiah's recovery is not merely because God has changed his mind but because of his willingness to keep faith with those to whom he has committed himself in the past (Deut. 4:37, 38). But it also evokes the memory of the impact of the faithful life. There is no limit to the effect of such a life. Although the sins of a person may affect the third or the fourth generation, the results of a person's faithfulness will reach to a thousand generations (Exod. 34:6, 7).”
And a final parallel between the two episodes is seen in the fact that in both cases, God gives Hezekiah a miraculous sign that what He has said will in fact come true.
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